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CPower's Impact at GridFuture 2025

This week, the much-anticipated GridFuture 2025 conference unfolded, hosted by CPower Energy, marking a pivotal moment for industry leaders addressing the burgeoning demand for electricity. As the first notable surge in electricity consumption in decades emerges, industry stakeholders converged to discuss innovative approaches towards demand response and dispersed energy solutions.

Growing Electricity Demand

Michael D. Smith, CEO of CPower, elaborated on the pressing need for strategies to match the anticipated upswing in power consumption. “Electricity demand is on the rise rapidly,” he stated, acknowledging the uncertainties in forecasts but emphasizing that even lower estimates point towards significant challenges. The primary concern lies in the difficulty of meeting this rising demand through traditional supply methods.

“While increasing generation capacity seems like the go-to solution, constructing new power plants is often too slow and expensive to effectively address immediate needs. This is where demand response shines—it’s a quick, adaptable, and cost-effective approach that can yield immediate benefits,” Smith added.

Embracing New Solutions

CPower stands at the forefront as a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) platform, leveraging its network of 23,000 customer sites across the United States. These sites play a crucial role in fortifying the grid while simultaneously allowing businesses to earn revenue and cut costs through demand response initiatives. Notably, since June, CPower and its partners have delivered approximately 34,000 MWh of load relief to alleviate peak demand during some of summer's hottest days, stabilizing the grid when additional resources were most necessary.

Morgan Scott, EPRI's Vice President, remarked on the pressing need to harness all available resources to cope with increasing energy demands from diverse sectors like data centers and manufacturing. “To sustain our planet while meeting the energy demand stemming from evolving industries, we must employ an array of tools. This includes optimizing existing infrastructure and investing in cutting-edge technologies,” Scott explained.

Recognizing Excellence in Energy Innovation

In a ceremony during the conference, CPower presented its annual Customer-Powered Grid® Awards, celebrating clients and partnerships excelling in enhancing the grid's reliability and fostering technological advancements that positively impact communities.

• - Flexibility Award went to Highland Electric Fleets, recognized for pioneering the integration of electric school buses into commercial vehicle-to-grid programs, now managing North America's largest project of its kind.
• - Grid Champion Award was granted to RTX Corp., acknowledged for its reliable performance across multiple demand response events, underlining its commitment to energy solutions.
• - The Innovative Solutions Award was presented to 75F, a leader in commercial HVAC automation, known for utilizing IoT and AI to shortcut energy costs while reducing emissions.
• - Community Champion Award was bestowed to the Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation (DEMEC) due to its engagement in community-focused energy initiatives, notably partnering with Light Up Navajo to extend electricity access to numerous families.

Smith concluded with a nod to the significance of their customers’ contributions, stating, “This year's awardees exemplify outstanding commitment to enhancing grid reliability and shaping community impact. They really encapsulate the vital role that our customers play in not just supporting, but actively strengthening the grid throughout the nation.”

To learn more about CPower Energy and its initiatives, visit cpowerenergy.com.

About CPower

CPower is a prominent player in the energy landscape as a Virtual Power Plant platform, turning customer-sourced energy into an asset capable of bolstering the grid efficiently. For over ten years, CPower has simplified the monetization of energy flexibility, enabling various partners and large-scale energy consumers to navigate the transformative energy economy. To date, the company has generated over $1.2 billion in revenue through demand response initiatives since 2015, serving a customer capacity of 6.7 GW across more than 23,000 sites in North America.